


Defining a Thing

by Odae



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24863185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odae/pseuds/Odae
Summary: Katara and Zuko find out they both hooked up with Jet.
Relationships: Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 691





	Defining a Thing

**Author's Note:**

> this one comes from another tumblr prompt!

They are all walking back from the Ember Island theater, each morose for a different reason, when Sokka, as is to be expected, speaks up.

“I want maple-suckle ice,” he says loudly.

Zuko gives him a questioning glance, waiting for an explanation.

“Back home,” Katara begins instead, and Zuko turns to watch her speak, “we have this treat that’s basically shaved ice covered in the sap of a maple-suckle bush. Gran Gran used to make it to cheer us up.” 

Zuko considers this while the group continues trudging silently back home.

“Um, we have shaved ice on Ember Island, too,” he finally suggests, and before he can even finish, Sokka has grabbed him by the shoulder. 

“Take us, now, please,” he says urgently. 

They arrive at the cart only another mile away from the Fire Lord’s house, and Zuko tries to explain the different flavors and toppings to his friends. Aang gratefully chooses a mess of ice and mango syrup and various chopped up fruits, Sokka and Toph tuck into a mix of matcha-flavored toppings, and Suki favors lychee and black sesame in her choices. Katara, eager and amenable as always, asks Zuko what his favorites are and orders them for herself. The vendor piles the last of the red bean onto Katara’s ice, so there’s none left for Zuko’s. 

“Oh, no, Zuko, you should have it,” she says apologetically, trying to swap her ice for his.

Zuko shrugs at her with a small smile and pushes away her hands. “I’ve had plenty before. You take it,” he insists. 

Zuko vaguely finds it odd that Aang wrinkles his nose and looks away when he hears this, but he doesn’t say anything.

The group resumes their walk to the house, shaved ices in hand, significantly cheered. Sokka and Toph begin trading jokes at the front of the herd, Suki occasionally laughing at them, and even Aang starts to smile. Zuko falls back to walk in step with Katara a little behind the rest of the group. He clears his throat, and Katara looks up from her treat.

“So, I wanted to ask, because I tried with Sokka before, and he didn’t really know, and, uh, I know you’re a healer, and maybe you’d know, um, better. But,” he starts haltingly. He stops and grimaces, racking his vocabulary for the right words for this kind of conversation.

Katara waits for him patiently, her round eyes looking up at him devoid of any expectation. 

He sighs and rolls his shoulders up and back, surrendering to the openness of her gaze. His voice is stronger, more decisive, when he asks, “Did Jet actually die?” 

Katara’s eyes widen in surprise, but she composes herself quickly. “Yeah,” she says plainly. “He did.” She scoops another spoonful of her ice. “Why?” She pops it into her mouth.

“I actually knew him?” Zuko says slowly.

Katara chokes on the ice. “What? How?” she demands between coughs.

Zuko hesitates before patting her back to help with the coughing. Once she’s stopped, he takes a deep breath, and then lets it out. “Uh —well. I kind of had a thing with him.”

Katara’s watery eyes are urgent as they scan his face. “Define ‘a thing,’” she says.

Zuko rubs the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. “I guess we used to hook up?”

Katara gasps and covers her mouth with her free hand before she groans and her head falls. 

“It was only a couple of times,” Zuko defends himself, his voice higher pitched and scratchy. 

There’s a loud laugh from Toph at the front of the group, who has been clearly eavesdropping on their conversation. “Oh, this is too good!” she crows. “Jet got Sparky, too!”

“What?” Sokka demands, removing his arm from around Suki’s shoulders to peer back at Zuko and Katara. “What’s going on?”

Toph gestures in the general direction of Zuko and Katara, who are both standing rooted to the ground, blushing furiously as they keep accidentally making eye contact and then turning fiercely to look literally anywhere else. 

“Zuko and Katara are spit sisters,” Toph practically yells. She laughs loudly, her face upturned and her mouth wide. 

Sokka smacks himself in the forehead, clearly pained. “Am I the only one who didn’t make out with Jet?” he cries. “What is it with this guy?”

Even Aang can’t help giggling in response.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Sokka asks Zuko, the corner of his mouth rising into the beginnings of an amused smile.

“I didn’t know you knew him,” Zuko says.

“Not just about Jet specifically,” Sokka clarifies. “I thought you liked girls.” He winces and rubs his arm when Suki elbows him sharply. 

“I was kind of worried about the war we’re trying to end,” Zuko says with a wave of his hand, clearly exhausted. “And it’s illegal in the Fire Nation. And from what I gather, still pretty taboo around the rest of the world. I didn’t know how you were going to react.”

Aang nods thoughtfully. “The monks always told us that love was love, no matter who shared it,” he says. “But they also reminded us that a lot of the rest of the world didn’t feel the same way.”

Zuko sighs. “That’s an understatement,” he says. Then, as an afterthought, “And it wasn’t really love.”

He stops when he notices Katara scooping red bean off of her shaved ice and placing it carefully on Zuko’s. He watches her for a moment before she catches on and looks up at him with wide eyes. 

“What are you doing?” he asks, bewildered.

“You let me take all the red bean,” she says in an attempt at an explanation. “But _you_ deserve it.”

Zuko groans loudly. “I knew you guys would treat me differently if you found out,” he says, raising his arm in exasperation.

“No worries, here, Zuko,” Sokka says, pointing to his chest with his thumb. “I’ll always think of you as my favorite jerkbender.”

“Yeah,” Aang agrees brightly. “I think it’s great you like guys!”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Well, that’s a relief —Katara, stop giving me back all of the red bean!”

Katara pulls her hand back quickly. “Sorry,” she says sheepishly.

Suki stifles a laugh behind her hand before addressing the group. 

“Maybe we should continue this conversation back home,” she says, then notices the panic on Zuko’s face. “Or just go home and not talk about it anymore.”

Toph keeps laughing as they resume walking toward the beach house, while Sokka, to the amusement of both Suki and Aang, grumbles something about Jet’s stature, and how he’s  _ not even that hot _ . 

Katara falls back to walk in step with Zuko. He suppresses another groan. 

“You know,” she begins quietly, and he turns to watch her speak, “if you ever  _ do _ want to talk about him—Jet, I mean—or anyone else.” Her eyes land on Sokka after he has another outburst ahead of them, and she shakes her head affectionately at him. She addresses Zuko once more and smiles lightly. “I’m always here.”

Zuko looks away, but he finds himself smiling, too, as his face tips down toward the ground. 

“Yeah,” he finally says, “maybe.” 


End file.
